Handbook of Field Experiments VOLUME1
Edited by
ABHIJIT VINAYAK BANERJEE
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA, United States
ESTHER DUFLO
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA, United States
CONTENTS
Volume 1
Contributors xiii
1. An Introduction to the “Handbook of Field Experiments” 1
A.V. Banerjee, E. Duflo
1. The Impact on the Way We Do Research 2
2. The Impact on the Way We Think About the World 15
3. Conclusion 21
References 21
Section I. Some Historical Background
2. The Politics and Practice of Social Experiments: Seeds of a Revolution 27
J.M. Gueron
1. Why Focus on Welfare? 28
2. Why Experiment? 29
3. The Story 30
4. Major Challenges 32
5. Demonstrating Feasibility: The National Supported Work Demonstration 33
6. Social Experiments Reincarnated as a Partnership: Testing Feasibility Anew
by Evaluating State Initiatives 38
7. Using Randomized Controlled Trials to Test Full-Scale Programs: The Fight
Got Tougher 45
8. What Works Best? A Multiarm Test of Labor Force Attachment versus
Human Capital Development 50
9. The Momentum Shifts 53
10. Useful and Used 54
11. Lessons and Challenges 59
Acknowledgments 66
References 66
Section II. Methodology and Practice of RCTs
3. The Econometrics of Randomized Experiments 73
S. Athey, G.W. Imbens
1. Introduction 75
2. Randomized Experiments and Validity 78
3. The Potential Outcome/Rubin Causal Model Framework for Causal Inference 81
4. The Analysis of Completely Randomized Experiments 85
5. Randomization Inference and Regression Estimators 94
6. The Analysis of Stratified and Paired Randomized Experiments 99
7. The Design of Randomized Experiments and the Benefits of Stratification 102
8. The Analysis of Clustered Randomized Experiments 109
9. Noncompliance in Randomized Experiments 114
10. Heterogenous Treatment Effects and Pretreatment Variables 122
11. Experiments in Settings With Interactions 131
12. Conclusion 135
References 135
4. Decision Theoretic Approaches to Experiment Design and External Validity 141
A.V. Banerjee, S. Chassang, E. Snowberg
1. Introduction 142
2. The Framework 145
3. Perspectives on Experimental Design 147
4. Rerandomization, Registration, and Preanalysis 153
5. External Validity 159
6. Structured Speculation 161
7. Issues of Particular Interest 165
8. Conclusion 171
References 171
5. The Practicalities of Running Randomized Evaluations: Partnerships,
Measurement, Ethics, and Transparency 175
R. Glennerster
1. Collaboration Between Researchers and Implementers 177
2. Preparing for Practical Pitfalls in Field Experiments 192
3. Ethics 200
4. Transparency of Research 216
5. Conclusion 238
References 238
6. The Psychology of Construal in the Design of Field Experiments 245
E.L. Paluck, E. Shafir
1. Introduction 246
2. Pilot: Seek Shared Construal of Behavior and the Situation Between
Investigators and Participants 253
3. Design: Ensure the Intervention Design, Measurement, and Deployment
Achieve Shared Construal Between Investigators and Participants 256
4. Interpret: How Do Investigators Construe What Matters in the Data? 262
5. Concluding Thoughts 265
References 266
Section III. Understanding Preferences and Preference Change
7. Field Experiments in Markets 271
O. Al-Ubaydli, J.A. List
1. Introduction 272
2. Preamble 274
3. Main Results 280
4. Methodological Insights 300
5. Closing Remarks 302
References 303
8. Field Experiments on Discrimination 309
M. Bertrand, E. Duflo
1. Introduction 310
2. Measuring Discrimination in the Field 315
3. Consequences of Discrimination 345
4. What Affects Discrimination? 359
5. Conclusion 382
References 383
9. Field Experiments on Voter Mobilization: An Overview
of a Burgeoning Literature 395
A.S. Gerber, D.P. Green
1. Intellectual Context for Emergence of Field Experiments in Political Science 397
2. How Do Experiments Address the Problems in the Prior Voter Turnout Research? 402
3. An Overview of the Experimental Literature on Voter Mobilization 406
4. The Effect of Messaging 417
References 434
10. Lab in the Field: Measuring Preferences in the Wild 439
U. Gneezy, A. Imas
1. Theoretically-Relevant Populations 441
2. Using Lab-in-the Field for Collecting Covariates as Complements to
RCTs and for Targeting Policy 445
3. Comparing Between Contexts and Cultures 452
4. External Validity 456
5. Conclusion 459
References 461
11. Field Experiments in Marketing 465
D. Simester
1. Papers that Report Field Experiments 466
2. Pricing Topics 471
3. Advertising Topics 476
4. Product-Related Topics 479
5. Model Validation 480
6. Other Topics 481
7. Designing Experiments and Future Topics 484
8. Conclusions 488
Appendix: Summary of the Papers 490
References 494
Index 499